German 17th Infantry Division
Encyclopedia
The 17th Infantry Division was an infantry division
of Nazi Germany
, active before and during the World War II
. Formed in 1934, it took part in most of the campaigns of the Wehrmacht
and was decimated in January 1945. Reconstituted in Germany, it surrendered to the Allies in May of that year. The division was responsible for a number of war crimes.
Note: For German 17th Infantry Division in the army of the German Empire
before 1914 which took part in the First World War see 17th Division (German Empire)
.
under the designation Wehrgauleitung Nürnberg. Shortly after its creation it was renamed Artillerieführer VIILiterally "artillery commander No. 7", a covert name for the commander of artillery of the former 7th Infantry of the Reichswehr who took command of the newly formed unit of the Wehrmacht and after whom the unit was named in order to conceal its size, and to camouflage its numbers. Although created as an en cadre
division from the very beginning, both names were intended to suggest much smaller units, as German military strength was still restricted by the Treaty of Versailles
. After Adolf Hitler
renounced the treaty, and officially announced the creation of the Wehrmacht
in October 1935, the unit was renamed to the 17th Infantry Division.
The organic regimental units of this division were formed by the expansion of the 21st Bavarian Infantry Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division of the Reichswehr
. The division participated in the annexation of Austria
in March 1938. During the Invasion of Poland
it was reinforced by the infamous Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler and attached to the German Eighth Army
of Gen. Johannes Blaskowitz
. Under command of Gen. Herbert Loch
, the division took part in heavy fighting in Silesia
, then in the vicinity of Łódź. At Pabianice it faced elements of the Polish 28th Infantry Division
and the Wołyńska Cavalry Brigade. After the war, the Poles accused the division of committing atrocities.
, it was established that the first major war crime occurred between September 3 and September 4, 1939 in the vicinity of Złoczew. In a large scale mass murder, the soldiers of the 17th Division burnt approximately 80% of buildings in the town and killed without a trial approximately 200 Polish citizens of Polish and Jewish ethnicity, out of whom only 71 people were identified after the war, while the identity of the remaining victims was impossible to establish as they were war refugees unknown to local inhabitants. Some of the victims were burnt alive, while the bodies of other people were thrown into burning houses. After the war the Polish authorities presented the West German
prosecutors' office with the documents of the investigation, as well as the detailed information on the 71 identified victims. However, the latter declined to prosecute the war crimes on various grounds. The German authorities argued that it was impossible to determine which units of the 17th Division took part in the crimes as the 1st chapter of the war diary of SS-Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler Regiment was missing. Moreover, the German prosecutors argued, that the deeds described by the witnesses must have been directly related to warfare, notably struggle against the partisansThe German term Freischärler (lit. Free shooters) is used to denote all non-combatant personnel taking part in warfare, as described in contemporary German law: the On the special penal code for the time of war act of August 17, 1938 and that all of the civilian victims were hostile towards the German forces. The only two cases excluded from that reasoning was the murder of a 1,5 year old child murdered with a butt of a German soldiers' rifle and the case of a wounded woman thrown into a burning house. The earlier case was explained as a common crime (and as such subject to non-claim), while the latter case was turned down due to inability to find the direct responsible. The same reasoning was given for the case of 10 Polish peasants executed in the nearby village of Grójec Wielki after a Polish reconnaissance plane appeared in the area.
In a separate case investigated by the after the war, the KBZPNP commission requested the prosecution of the commanders of the 10th and 17th Divisions, which took part in a mass murder of several dozen Poles in the village of Włyń near ŁódźIn fact the Polish commission presented the German authorities with documents only on cases of six Polish citizens murdered that day, who were known by name and whose cases could be sufficiently investigated. All cases of the murder of Polish civilians in that village were turned down by the German prosecutors' office on April 22, 1974. The German authorities argued, that it is not impossible that all the civilians trying to escape from the German forces were in fact partisans. This was the reasoning in the case of certain Ochecki who was shot to death while trying to rescue his cattle from a barn set in flames by the German soldiers. The German authorities argued that it was fair to assume that he was trying to escape from the German soldiers. The same reasoning was given in the case of a mentally sick person shot the same day. In the case of Wawrzyn Piecyk, who was killed while being wounded and unconscious, it was argued that he might have been pretending to be unconscious in order to escape from the German soldiers, while the case of Józef Jawor, a man who did not stop when requested to and instead hid in his house, where he was shot through the doors, was explained as a killing done during a fight. The case of Maria Konieczna, a deaf woman who was shot after not responding to a German soldier, was considered a common crimeAnd thus subject to non-claim, while the killing of Józef Gałka was explained as legitimate, since a picture of his brother in Polish military uniform found in Gałka's wallet was a proof that he might have been a partisan himself. In the same decision, the German authorities declared that the patients of the mental institution in the town of Warta
, killed by the soldiers of the 17th Division in the hospital and dressed in hospital pyjamas, were victims of a common crime rather than a war crime or a murder.
In addition to that, the Leibstandarte regiment attached to the 17th Division was notorious for burning all villages it passed through.
, as part of XIIIth Corps. Afterwards, in the summer of 1940, the division trained for taking part in the abortive invasion of England
. In 1941 it participated in Operation Barbarossa
as part of Army Group Center. In the fall of 1941 it took part in the Battle of Moscow
. After sustaining heavy losses, it was withdrawn to France in June, 1942. The division returned to the Eastern Front
in April, 1943, fighting around river Mius, Nikopol, Uman
, Chişinău
and Iaşi
. In August, 1944 the unit was shifted to Poland and fought to contain Soviet bridgeheads on the Vistula
river, around Warka
and Radom
. It remained in this sector until it was heavily damaged in the course of the Soviet Vistula-Oder offensive
in January, 1945. The division was then reconstituted from its remnants and fought in April and May 1945 in the area around Görlitz
. At the end of the war it was located in the Riesengebirge mountains (today Karkonosze).
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, active before and during the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Formed in 1934, it took part in most of the campaigns of the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
and was decimated in January 1945. Reconstituted in Germany, it surrendered to the Allies in May of that year. The division was responsible for a number of war crimes.
Note: For German 17th Infantry Division in the army of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
before 1914 which took part in the First World War see 17th Division (German Empire)
17th Division (German Empire)
The 17th Division was a unit of the Prussian/German Army. It was formed on October 11, 1866 and initially headquartered in Kiel. It moved its headquarters to Schwerin in 1871. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the IX Army Corps...
.
History
The unit was formed in October 1934 in NurembergNuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
under the designation Wehrgauleitung Nürnberg. Shortly after its creation it was renamed Artillerieführer VIILiterally "artillery commander No. 7", a covert name for the commander of artillery of the former 7th Infantry of the Reichswehr who took command of the newly formed unit of the Wehrmacht and after whom the unit was named in order to conceal its size, and to camouflage its numbers. Although created as an en cadre
En cadre
En cadre or cadre is a French expression originally denoting either the complement of commissioned officers of a regiment or the permanent skeleton establishment of a unit, around which the unit could be built if needed...
division from the very beginning, both names were intended to suggest much smaller units, as German military strength was still restricted by the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
. After Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
renounced the treaty, and officially announced the creation of the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
in October 1935, the unit was renamed to the 17th Infantry Division.
The organic regimental units of this division were formed by the expansion of the 21st Bavarian Infantry Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division of the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
. The division participated in the annexation of Austria
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
in March 1938. During the Invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
it was reinforced by the infamous Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler and attached to the German Eighth Army
German Eighth Army
The 8th Army was a World War I and World War II field army.-World War I:At the outbreak of World War I, the 8. Armee was stationed in East Prussia to defend against the expected Russian attack, Plan XIX. After the scrappy Battle of Gumbinnen, 8. Armee commander Generaloberst Maximilian von...
of Gen. Johannes Blaskowitz
Johannes Blaskowitz
Johannes Albrecht Blaskowitz was a German general during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
. Under command of Gen. Herbert Loch
Herbert Loch (general)
Herbert Loch was a highly decorated General der Artillerie in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the XXVI. Corps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful...
, the division took part in heavy fighting in Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
, then in the vicinity of Łódź. At Pabianice it faced elements of the Polish 28th Infantry Division
Polish 28th Infantry Division
The 28 Dywizja Piechoty was a Polish Army infantry division which saw action against the invading Germans during the Invasion of Poland of World War II. The division suffered heavy casualties in battles near Łódź and the remnants retreated to Warsaw, where they surrendered.-Order of battle:*HQ...
and the Wołyńska Cavalry Brigade. After the war, the Poles accused the division of committing atrocities.
War crimes
Throughout the war, the soldiers of the 17th division committed a number of war crimes, notably in Poland during the 1939 campaign. In a war crime investigation by the KBZPNP commission, the predecessor of the Institute of National RemembranceInstitute of National Remembrance
Institute of National Remembrance — Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation is a Polish government-affiliated research institute with lustration prerogatives and prosecution powers founded by specific legislation. It specialises in the legal and historical sciences and...
, it was established that the first major war crime occurred between September 3 and September 4, 1939 in the vicinity of Złoczew. In a large scale mass murder, the soldiers of the 17th Division burnt approximately 80% of buildings in the town and killed without a trial approximately 200 Polish citizens of Polish and Jewish ethnicity, out of whom only 71 people were identified after the war, while the identity of the remaining victims was impossible to establish as they were war refugees unknown to local inhabitants. Some of the victims were burnt alive, while the bodies of other people were thrown into burning houses. After the war the Polish authorities presented the West German
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
prosecutors' office with the documents of the investigation, as well as the detailed information on the 71 identified victims. However, the latter declined to prosecute the war crimes on various grounds. The German authorities argued that it was impossible to determine which units of the 17th Division took part in the crimes as the 1st chapter of the war diary of SS-Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler Regiment was missing. Moreover, the German prosecutors argued, that the deeds described by the witnesses must have been directly related to warfare, notably struggle against the partisansThe German term Freischärler (lit. Free shooters) is used to denote all non-combatant personnel taking part in warfare, as described in contemporary German law: the On the special penal code for the time of war act of August 17, 1938 and that all of the civilian victims were hostile towards the German forces. The only two cases excluded from that reasoning was the murder of a 1,5 year old child murdered with a butt of a German soldiers' rifle and the case of a wounded woman thrown into a burning house. The earlier case was explained as a common crime (and as such subject to non-claim), while the latter case was turned down due to inability to find the direct responsible. The same reasoning was given for the case of 10 Polish peasants executed in the nearby village of Grójec Wielki after a Polish reconnaissance plane appeared in the area.
In a separate case investigated by the after the war, the KBZPNP commission requested the prosecution of the commanders of the 10th and 17th Divisions, which took part in a mass murder of several dozen Poles in the village of Włyń near ŁódźIn fact the Polish commission presented the German authorities with documents only on cases of six Polish citizens murdered that day, who were known by name and whose cases could be sufficiently investigated. All cases of the murder of Polish civilians in that village were turned down by the German prosecutors' office on April 22, 1974. The German authorities argued, that it is not impossible that all the civilians trying to escape from the German forces were in fact partisans. This was the reasoning in the case of certain Ochecki who was shot to death while trying to rescue his cattle from a barn set in flames by the German soldiers. The German authorities argued that it was fair to assume that he was trying to escape from the German soldiers. The same reasoning was given in the case of a mentally sick person shot the same day. In the case of Wawrzyn Piecyk, who was killed while being wounded and unconscious, it was argued that he might have been pretending to be unconscious in order to escape from the German soldiers, while the case of Józef Jawor, a man who did not stop when requested to and instead hid in his house, where he was shot through the doors, was explained as a killing done during a fight. The case of Maria Konieczna, a deaf woman who was shot after not responding to a German soldier, was considered a common crimeAnd thus subject to non-claim, while the killing of Józef Gałka was explained as legitimate, since a picture of his brother in Polish military uniform found in Gałka's wallet was a proof that he might have been a partisan himself. In the same decision, the German authorities declared that the patients of the mental institution in the town of Warta
Warta, Poland
Warta is a town in Sieradz County, Łódź Voivodeship, Poland, with 3,392 inhabitants . It is situated on the Warta River. The town had a number of Jewish inhabitants who were sent to the Ghettos and eventually to the concentration camps during World War II....
, killed by the soldiers of the 17th Division in the hospital and dressed in hospital pyjamas, were victims of a common crime rather than a war crime or a murder.
In addition to that, the Leibstandarte regiment attached to the 17th Division was notorious for burning all villages it passed through.
After the invasion of Poland
After the war against Poland, the unit was withdrawn to Germany and then took part in the battle of FranceBattle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, as part of XIIIth Corps. Afterwards, in the summer of 1940, the division trained for taking part in the abortive invasion of England
Operation Sealion
Operation Sea Lion was Germany's plan to invade the United Kingdom during the Second World War, beginning in 1940. To have had any chance of success, however, the operation would have required air and naval supremacy over the English Channel...
. In 1941 it participated in Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
as part of Army Group Center. In the fall of 1941 it took part in the Battle of Moscow
Battle of Moscow
The Battle of Moscow is the name given by Soviet historians to two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitler's attack on Moscow, capital of...
. After sustaining heavy losses, it was withdrawn to France in June, 1942. The division returned to the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
in April, 1943, fighting around river Mius, Nikopol, Uman
Uman
Uman is a city located in the Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. The city rests on the banks of the Umanka River at around , and serves as the self-governing administrative center of the Umanskyi Raion ....
, Chişinău
Chisinau
Chișinău is the capital and largest municipality of Moldova. It is also its main industrial and commercial centre and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc...
and Iaşi
Iasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
. In August, 1944 the unit was shifted to Poland and fought to contain Soviet bridgeheads on the Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
river, around Warka
Warka
Warka is a town in central Poland, located on the left bank of the Pilica river , with 11,035 inhabitants . It has been situated in Grójec County, in the Masovian Voivodeship, since 1999; previously it was in the Radom Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998.Warka obtained its city charter in 1321...
and Radom
Radom
Radom is a city in central Poland with 223,397 inhabitants . It is located on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship , having previously been the capital of Radom Voivodeship ; 100 km south of Poland's capital, Warsaw.It is home to the biennial Radom Air Show, the largest and...
. It remained in this sector until it was heavily damaged in the course of the Soviet Vistula-Oder offensive
Vistula-Oder Offensive
The Vistula–Oder Offensive was a successful Red Army operation on the Eastern Front in the European Theatre of World War II; it took place between 12 January and 2 February 1945...
in January, 1945. The division was then reconstituted from its remnants and fought in April and May 1945 in the area around Görlitz
Görlitz
Görlitz is a town in Germany. It is the easternmost town in the country, located on the Lusatian Neisse River in the Bundesland of Saxony. It is opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was a part of Görlitz until 1945. Historically, Görlitz was in the region of Upper Lusatia...
. At the end of the war it was located in the Riesengebirge mountains (today Karkonosze).
Commanding officers
- Generalleutnant Herbert LochHerbert Loch (general)Herbert Loch was a highly decorated General der Artillerie in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the XXVI. Corps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful...
, 1 September 1939 - Generalleutnant Ernst Güntzel, 28 October 1941
- Generalleutnant Gustav-Adolf von ZangenGustav-Adolf von ZangenGustav-Adolf von Zangen was a German general and the commander of the German 15th Army in the Netherlands in 1944 during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves...
, 25 December 1941 - Generalmajor Richard ZimmerRichard Zimmer (general)Richard Zimmer was a highly decorated Generalleutnant in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross...
, 1 April 1943 - Oberst Scheiker, December 1943
- Generalmajor Paul Schricker, January 1944
- Oberst Otto-Hermann BrückerOtto-Hermann BrückerOtto-Hermann Adolf Brücker was a highly decorated Generalleutnant in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded several divisions. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or...
, February 1944 - Oberst Georg HausGeorg HausGeorg Haus was a highly decorated Generalleutnant in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership...
, 15 March 1944 - Oberst Theodor PreuTheodor PreuTheodor Preu was a highly decorated Oberst in the Wehrmacht during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership...
, 1 April 1944 - Generalleutnant Richard Zimmer, April 1944
- Generalmajor Max SachsenheimerMax SachsenheimerMax Sachsenheimer was a German Generalmajor, serving during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
, 4 September 1944
Order of battle
- Infanterie-Regiment 21
- Infanterie-Regiment 55
- Infanterie-Regiment 95 (later renamed to Grenadier-Regiment 95)
- Artillerie-Regiment 17
- Aufklärungs-Abteilung 17
- Panzerjäger-Abteilung 17
- Pionier-Battalion 17
- Nachrichten-Abteilung 17